EU officials say no emergency summit planned next weekend
EU officials denied reports on Tuesday that plans were being made for an emergency summit of government leaders of the eurozone next Sunday to discuss the debt impasse with Greece.
The officials said that if further talks were necessary after Thursday’s scheduled meeting of the Eurogroup of the 19 eurozone finance ministers, then the ministers might meet again at the weekend, but no such session had been called so far.
“The next and hopefully decisive step is the Eurogroup on Thursday. Any further steps will be decided in light of the outcome from the Eurogroup,” a senior EU official said.
Senior eurozone officials last week began discussing contingency plans for a possible Greek exit from the euro area if Athens defaults on a 1.6-billion-euro repayment due to the International Monetary Fund on June 30.
Last-ditch negotiations with Athens on a cash-for-reforms deal to unlock frozen aid collapsed on Sunday after Greece’s leftist government rejected any cuts to pensions and wages or increases in tax on basic goods.
“There should be no illusions that an agreement will become easier, or more advantageous over time or at the level of heads of state and government,” the EU official said.
[Reuters]
